


Mission to Meryton

by LPK9



Category: Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: F/M, Novel, Regency, Regency Romance, Sweet, clean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-23 07:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30052086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LPK9/pseuds/LPK9
Summary: Fitzwilliam Darcy descends upon Meryton on a mission for the British Crown, only to be distracted by the charming and unusual Miss Elizabeth Bennet.  The presence of Mr. Wickham and the danger of French spies further complicate the situation.  Who is an agent of the Enemy?  Will Darcy and Elizabeth find their way to one another, or will circumstances tear them apart?
Relationships: Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy, Jane Bennet/Charles Bingley
Comments: 25
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning. I intend to publish this entire story here (as I write it) including the last chapter. When I publish, Amazon requires that I take down most of the story. I will warn you ahead of time, so that you won't miss the end. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Laraba

**Chapter 1**

Fitzwilliam Darcy, master of the grand estate of Pemberley in Derbyshire, smiled reassuringly at his younger sister, "We must be nearly there, Georgiana."

Georgiana Darcy, sixteen years of age, stretched her arms and looked out the window at the scenery of Hertfordshire, "I will be glad to arrive, Fitzwilliam, though it has not been a terrible journey. I know none of us have forgotten that dreadful trek to Pemberley a few months ago, when we were hindered by that horrible rainstorm which turned the roads into a quagmire."

"I daresay none of us have forgotten that, Miss Darcy," Mrs. Younge, Georgiana's paid companion, agreed with a chuckle. "That inn was full to the bursting with waylaid travelers, and we were fortunate to find two small rooms directly above the pub itself."

"It was terribly loud," her charge concurred, shaking her head. "It seems quite astonishing to me that people could literally stay up all night long!"

"For you, my dear, most definitely," Darcy remarked cheerfully. "Not all of us enjoy sleeping as much as Miss Darcy of Pemberley."

"I do enjoy appropriate amounts of sleep," his sister confirmed. "Speaking of that, I wonder if I have time for a short nap. This new carriage is a marvelously comfortable, and the gentle bouncing is making me drowsy."

Darcy, who was facing forward, leaned to the window and shook his head, "I think not. Based on Bingley's description, that is Netherfield Hall only a mile away."

The two ladies and one gentleman both craned their heads to watch as the last section of road passed by, before the coachman turned the horses into a drive which led up to the imposing edifice of a fine mansion. A moment later, the coach halted, and Darcy opened the door and helped out first his sister, and then Mrs. Younge.

It was, he decided on first glance, a fine looking structure, neither run down nor overly ostentatious. It was not Pemberley, of course, but nothing was.

"Darcy!" a male voice shouted, and the three travelers turned as a handsome, red-headed man of some three and twenty summers raced haphazardly down the steps leading to the main door. Behind him were two finely dressed ladies who descended more sedately.

"Bingley!" Darcy exclaimed, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "It is a pleasure to see you. Thank you for inviting us."

"We are honored! Welcome to Netherfield Park, Miss Darcy, Mrs. Younge."

Both ladies curtsied to Bingley, and then turned to the newcomers who had now joined them.

"Mrs. Hurst, Miss Bingley," Georgiana said, curtsying again. "It is a pleasure to see you again."

"Louisa and I are delighted to see you, Miss Darcy, and I am quite certain that Charles has been counting the days until you arrived." Caroline Bingley gushed. "We are honored to have you and Mr. Darcy staying with us for a time, even if the neighborhood is quite provincial."

"I do like the country," Georgiana commented placidly.

"Well, please come inside, all of you," Caroline continued. "I am certain you wish to refresh yourselves after your long journey!"

"Miss Bingley, would you kindly look after my sister and Mrs. Younge while I take a few moments to speak with your brother? I have a great longing to stretch my legs and look about the estate at least a little."

"Of course, Mr. Darcy, of course! Please do come this way, Georgiana, Mrs. Younge!"

/

"Well, what think you of Netherfield?" Darcy asked seriously of his friend. The two men had wandered to the edge of a cow pasture, well away from listening ears.

Charles Bingley leaned up against a fence post and looked around in approval, "I like it exceedingly well, Darcy. In fact, it is exactly the kind of place I hoped to lease, to the point that I feel rather guilty in allowing you to provide the funds."

Darcy shook his head impatiently, "Nonsense, Bingley. You are doing me a great favor in putting your name on the lease. If I did so, there might well be questions since I already own an estate. In any case, I will be reimbursed if necessary."

Bingley nodded, "I understand. What is my role, by the way?"

"Your role, Bingley, is to be your cheerful, gregarious, outgoing self. I have every confidence that within a few days, you will be acquainted with all those who are called gentry in this area, along with the ironmonger and the local shopkeepers."

Bingley frowned a little, "I assume that this mission of yours, since you brought Miss Darcy, it is not dangerous. My sisters are here along with Louisa's husband, Mr. Hurst."

His friend huffed, "To be truthful, Bingley, I do not know what this mission involves. My superior is not yet in Hertfordshire as he is delayed with another vital task on the Continent; all I know is that there is something afoot here involving the French. My only role is to learn all I can about the local inhabitants of the area."

Bingley sighed, "It is hard to believe that anyone here is working for the Enemy. I have already been visited by a number of the local gentlemen, and all seem honest, decent, Englishmen."

Darcy shrugged, "Indeed, they may all be honest, decent men. The reports are as yet undefined, I understand. Perhaps Meryton is merely a brief stop in a network of spies. I do not know. As to safety, most certainly, Bingley. I would never allow Georgiana here if there were any danger. We will merely live our lives and attempt to learn more about the men and women and families in the area. I urge you to be yourself."

"I presume Miss Darcy is not aware …"

"No, certainly not. No one else must know, Bingley."

"As you wish, old friend. Now come, I have a new horse that I wish to show you…"

/

"Jane, Elizabeth!" Mrs. Bennet cried out, her shrill tones wafting up the stairs of the Bennet family home of Longbourn. "Make haste! Make haste! We must leave for the assembly within ten minutes, or we will be late!"

Elizabeth Bennet, the second of the five Bennet daughters, called down reassuringly, "We are almost ready, Mama!"

She turned to her elder sister and did an inspection, careful to keep her expression cheerful, "You look absolutely lovely, Jane. That gown sets off your eyes and hair beautifully."

"Thank you, Lizzy," Jane Bennet responded, fingering the pearl necklace around her neck and managing a brave smile. "I am ready."

"How do I look?"

Jane lifted an affectionate hand to smooth a vagrant chestnut curl on her favorite sister's head, "You look wonderful, of course. I have no doubt that Mr. Bingley will be quite smitten."

"Oh, I daresay he will, along with the other five or six or ten or twenty gentleman he is supposedly bringing with him to the assembly."

Jane's expression lightened, "The gossip mongers have been most active, have they not?"

"Very much so."

/

The assembly room in Meryton was like many such establishments in the myriad little towns which spread across fair England. The dancing floor was sizable enough that some thirty couples could dance, and the structure itself, while architecturally uninspiring, was well-tended and solid.

Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley stood against a wall and looked around carefully at the young couples swirling around the dance floor. He had already danced with Miss Caroline Bingley and Mrs. Louisa Hurst, sisters to his nominal host, Charles Bingley. Thus, his duty to dance was at an end, and he could focus on his work.

The problem was, of course, that his current mission was so opaque. He had served three times before in the service of the Crown, but in the past, his goals had been well defined. This time, he knew only that something unsavory was afoot in Meryton, and he needed to be on hand to help determine what the French were up to in this British backwater.

He knew himself to be but a cog in the wheel in the great battle against the Corsican tyrant and was pathetically grateful that a more senior agent would come to assist him in the future. For now, his task was to learn about the leading families of the area.

His eyes moved to Sir William Lucas, a cheerful, outgoing, unsophisticated man of some fifty years. The man was father to a large and hopeful family, including a daughter in her twenties.

Next was the Bennet family, composed of a vulgar matron and her five daughters. Was there a Mr. Bennet? If so, was it possible that he was involved with French agents? The women, he thought, he could discard as possible accomplices to the Enemy; Darcy was not so naïve as to think that a woman could not be a spy, but these five girls appeared to be simple young ladies, and the mother seemed entirely incapable of artifice. The eldest Miss Bennet, Darcy observed with wry amusement, had already been captured by Charles Bingley. The girl was an exceptionally handsome blonde with seraphic blue eyes, and Bingley, who had a partiality for blondes, had immediately invited the girl for a dance and now, Darcy observed with disapproval, his friend was dancing with Miss Bennet a second time. That was enough to cause the tongues to wag in this rural area!

Sitting in one of the dowager's chairs was a ... a Mrs. Long, yes, that was it. Again, was there a Mr. Long? Did the lady have sons? There was a definite shortage of young men in the room such that many a woman was forced to sit out for some of the dancing, but that was not in itself a great surprise. This long war against Napoleon had pulled many young men into the army or navy.

A man was standing in the corner near a woman who was probably his wife. What was his name? Wyatt? Watts? Wright?

"Come, Darcy!" the familiar voice of Charles Bingley declared. Darcy looked down at his shorter friend irritably as all memory of the man in the corner's name fled.

Bingley clapped a familiar hand on his arm and smiled, "I must have you dance! I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance."

Darcy frowned and shook his head slightly, "I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as this, it would be insupportable. Your sisters are engaged, and there is not another woman in the room, with whom it would not be a punishment for me to stand up."

"I would not be so fastidious as you are," cried Bingley, "for a kingdom! Upon my honor, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty."

Darcy's lips turned down and he tried to catch Bingley's eyes. Charles should know that Darcy was working at the moment and thus had no interest in dancing, but then Bingley's natural bonhomie meant that, surrounded as he was by handsome ladies, little else but dancing seemed of any importance.

"You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room," Darcy declared, seeking to distract his friend.

Bingley smiled even more broadly, "Oh, she is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I dare say, very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you."

Darcy gritted his teeth at his friend's determination.

"Which do you mean?" Darcy inquired coldly, turning around to stare at the young woman sitting demurely on a chair against the wall. She was dressed in blue muslin gown and her hair was not blonde, but chestnut brown. She was, he supposed, pretty enough, but not nearly as handsome as the eldest Miss Bennet.

"She is tolerable," he said impatiently, "but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me."

Bingley shrugged at this and wandered off in search of another dance partner, leaving Darcy to discover whether there was a card room in which the older gentlemen were hiding. If he could find a partner for piquet, he could listen carefully for more information on the leading families in the environs of Meryton. He moved away from the wall toward a corridor which led to the back of the building.

/

_Author note: I hope you enjoy this new story!_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“How was the assembly?” Mr. Bennet inquired, lowering his book to focus on his wife and daughters.

“It was well enough,” Mrs. Bennet stated abstractly. “Mary, my dear, please do remind me to check on the tulip seeds tomorrow morning. I believe there is a change in the weather coming, and I am concerned that they might overheat.”

“Yes, Mother,” Mary agreed, carefully laying aside her bonnet on a nearby table.

“It was quite wonderful, Father,” young Lydia Bennet exclaimed. “Kitty and I were never without partners, and Mr. Bingley seemed quite enchanted with Jane!”

“Did he indeed?” her father inquired, turning his attention on Jane, who blushed rosily.

“Mr. Bingley seems very nice,” she said quietly.

“And how about you, Lizzy?”

Elizabeth Bennet heaved a dramatic sigh of exasperation, “Mostly all was well, but I was quite insulted by Mr. Bingley’s friend, Mr. Darcy. I fear you will have to call him out to defend my fair name, Father.”

Mr. Bennet regarded his second daughter affectionately, “Did he indeed? What exactly did he do, my dear?”

“He informed Mr. Bingley that while Jane is truly lovely, I am not, and am therefore not ‘handsome enough to dance with’. That is surely worthy of a duel at fifty paces, is it not, Father?”

Now her father was frowning, “Did he truly say such a thing?”

There was a chorus of outraged voices agreeing with Elizabeth’s declaration, and Mrs. Bennet’s strident voice rose above her daughters’ disapprobation.

“Mr. Darcy is a most unpleasant gentleman, Mr. Bennet. The word is that he has a large estate in Derbyshire and a clear 10,000 pounds a year in income; apparently, that means he is free to insult our Lizzy. He danced only with Mr. Bingley’s two sisters and spent half the assembly standing against a wall, glaring at people with his nose held high. Then he repaired to the card room for the rest of the evening. It is quite extraordinary that Mr. Bingley could have such a fractious and rude friend.”

“If Darcy is indeed master of a large estate, he is far higher socially than Mr. Bingley,” Elizabeth remarked. “I daresay that Mr. Bingley finds him a most valuable friend.”

“Mama, did you see the lace on the dresses of Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley?” Lydia, the youngest Miss Bennet, exclaimed eagerly. “It was so beautiful. Do you not think that we could send to London for something just like it? Perhaps our Uncle Gardiner knows where to purchase such delectable items!”

Mrs. Bennet frowned, “Lydia, we have discussed this before. I will gladly purchase fabric and lace and shoe roses from the shops in Meryton, but we will not send to London for more expensive items. The last thing we want is for our new neighbors to begin questioning our income sources. It is quite obvious that Longbourn, while a fine estate, is not capable of dressing our family to the level of Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley.”

“I think it is quite stupid,” Lydia pouted. “Why does it matter if one earns money through trade? Uncle Gardiner does, and Uncle Philips is a solicitor!”

“It should not matter,” Elizabeth agreed gently, “but regrettably it does. Come, Lydia, you do wish to have a London Season, do you not? We will have far more difficulty garnering invitations if it is known that the Bennets are earning money directly through commerce.”

Lydia bit her lip and nodded, “Very well, I think it is idiotic, but yes, I do wish for a successful Season.”

“And you will have one, my dear,” Mrs. Bennet declared, “and with your beauty and charm and dowry, I have no doubt that you will capture at least a baron and perhaps a viscount!”

/

The two eldest Miss Bennets had helped each other out of their finery and into their nightgowns, leaving the three ladies’ maids for the rest of the women in the family, and now were wrapped up in blankets on Jane’s large bed. It was late and the house was asleep, but Elizabeth could not rest easily until she talked to her dear Jane.

“What did you think of Mr. Bingley?” Elizabeth asked softly.

Jane let out a slow breath and then smiled a little, “I liked him. He seems very pleasant.”

“Just pleasant?”

Her elder sister compressed her perfectly formed lips, “My dear Lizzy, I only spoke to him for an hour. He is a charming conversationalist and seems gregarious and friendly, unlike his friend, Mr. Darcy, but I know nothing more.”

“That is reasonable enough,” her sister replied, struggling to suppress her disappointment.

Silence fell for a full five minutes before Jane broke it, “He is, at least, very different from Mr. Brisbane.”

“And that is a good thing,” Elizabeth retorted angrily.

Jane shook her head disconsolately, “I still believe that I was most at fault in that matter, Elizabeth. I should have realized Mr. Brisbane did not love me as much as I loved him.”

“He offered for you, Jane, and Father gave his blessing! By honor, David Brisbane was confined to you and you alone as his bride, but he was a weak-willed soul and when his tutor’s daughter sunk her claws into him while he was at Cambridge. He went along easily enough with her insistence that they marry in haste by common license.”

“I hope they are happy together,” her sister replied wearily. “Forgive me, Elizabeth, but I find myself very tired and in want of sleep.”

Elizabeth leaned over to kiss her cheek, and then departed quickly for her own bedchamber. Poor Jane had been devastated when the Brisbane heir had jilted her some eighteen months ago, and the eldest Miss Bennet had still not recovered her spirits entirely.

It was only a small source of comfort that the neighborhood of Meryton had sided with the Bennets with regards to the broken engagement, to the point that the Brisbanes, who owned Netherfield, had decamped permanently for London. Now Netherfield Hall and the associated estate were being leased by the genial Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth hoped for all their sakes that the man was as good inwardly as he was on the outside. Mr. Bingley’s friendship with the annoying Mr. Darcy made his own character somewhat suspect, but then, much could be forgiven a high borne gentleman of great wealth and property.

/

“Jane and Elizabeth, you must visit Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley at Netherfield this morning,” Mrs. Bennet declared as the Bennet ladies finished breaking their fast. “They are new to the neighborhood and would no doubt appreciate some time with the Miss Bennets.”

“I wish to go as well,” Lydia announced, and Elizabeth grimaced slightly. Lydia was but fifteen, and thanks to the indolence of her father and the uncertain conduct of her mother, was often overly boisterous in company.

“No, Lydia,” her mother stated decidedly, “you must work with the tulips today. You are terribly behind Kitty in your lessons and that is my fault; I have neglected you in favor of teaching your sisters.”

“I do not wish to learn! Gardening is boring, Mama, and I despise getting my hands dirty!”

Mrs. Bennet sucked in an outraged breath and glared at her youngest so fiercely that Lydia quailed, “I just mean ... Mama, surely it is enough that Jane, Elizabeth, Mary and Kitty have all learned how to grow tulips? Why must I as well?”

“It is your heritage,” her mother informed her indignantly. “Ever since my great great grandfather married a woman of the Netherlands, the women of my family have learned and passed on the secrets of the Florists’ tulips, and you will all learn.”

“I do not wish to,” Lydia muttered sullenly.

Her older sisters braced themselves for an explosion, but Mrs. Bennet merely tightened her lips, leaned back in her chair, and took a sip of tea, “Very well, you may leave off all your tulip lessons from this day forward.”

Lydia looked astonished before shooting a triumphant glance at Kitty, “Good!”

“But you will have no London Season, nor will you have any extra funds for gowns and fripperies beyond your normal clothing allowance, and your dowry will be but one thousand pounds.”

“But ... but Mama!”

“No, Lydia,” her mother retorted fiercely. “Longbourn provides for all our needs and many of our wants, but it is the tulips which are augmenting your dowries and providing the funds for extravagances like the second carriage and horses, and the additional servants. If you will not learn about the tulips, you will not reap their benefits.”

“Very well, I will learn,” Lydia responded. She was, if nothing else, a practical girl.

“Good. Mary, begin instructing Lydia today about the breeder bulbs.”

“Why Mary?” Lydia whined.

“Because Mary has the Gift,” Jane declared, and smiled at her middle sister.

Mary smiled back as she flushed a little, “Elizabeth is also quite skilled, and Kitty is coming along.”

“Indeed, they are,” her mother agreed, “but it is true that you inherited my ability to sense how to breed the flowers and make them break. Those scarlet and white flowers from last year fetched an incredible price and they were your inspiration, my dear.”

Mary’s face brightened, “I have been considering, Mama, whether we might use those pink and orange flowers as breeders ...”


	3. Chapter 3

## Chapter 3

“Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth Bennet,” the Netherfield butler announced.

The drawing room was fuller than Elizabeth had anticipated; along with Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, and Mr. Hurst, were two other women, one a youthful blonde with blue eyes, the other a plain, dark haired woman of some five and thirty years.

“Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth,” Caroline Bingley declared as the gentlemen rose to their feet. “How pleasant to see you this morning!”

“Thank you,” Jane replied, curtsying to the others. “It is a joy to see you as well.”

Darcy glanced with uncertainty towards his sister, who was gazing at him piteously. Georgiana was terribly shy and found it difficult to meet new people; at Pemberley, the butler knew to allow time for her to flee if someone arrived unexpectedly. On the other hand, Georgiana needed to learn to speak in company, and surely it was better to practice here in Hertfordshire where any mistakes were of little importance.

With his mind made up, Darcy gestured to his sister, “Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, may I please introduce you to my sister, Miss Georgiana Darcy, and her companion, Mrs. Younge?”

“Miss Darcy, Mrs. Younge,” Jane and Elizabeth chorused.

“Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth,” Georgiana whispered nervously, ducking her head shyly.

“Please do sit down,” Miss Bingley suggested, gesturing regally from her seat next to Mr. Darcy. Jane took a seat near Mr. Bingley, and Elizabeth found herself across from Mrs. Younge, who was herself next to Miss Darcy. The girl was leaning slightly toward her companion, as if for protection, which Elizabeth found oddly endearing. Surely she and Jane were not so terrifying?”

“Mrs. Younge, Miss Darcy, is this your first sojourn in Hertfordshire?”

“Yes, Miss Elizabeth. The Darcys hail from Derbyshire, of course, and I grew up in Devonshire.”

“Ah, have you been to the sea then, Mrs. Younge?”

“I have,” Mrs. Younge confirmed. “My husband and I lived in Exeter before his death, and we would occasionally travel to the seashore for a few days.”

“I have never been on a trip to the sea,” Elizabeth exclaimed. “What is it like?”

“Last summer, we ... Ramsgate,” muttered Miss Darcy.

Elizabeth leaned forward a little and fought to make sense of the girl’s mumbling, “You went to Ramsgate? In Kent?”

“Indeed,” Mrs. Younge confirmed with a smile at her charge, “we enjoyed it tremendously. It is quite amazing to look upon the waves as far as the eye can see ...”

Mr. Darcy, who had found himself sucked into conversation with Miss Bingley, found himself grateful to both Mrs. Younge and Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Georgiana had managed to say a few words, and the two other ladies were kindly carrying the burden of conversation while signaling that Georgiana was welcome to join in. That was far different than many a haughty London lady, who would ask direct questions of his nervous young sister. Yes, perhaps Hertfordshire was the perfect place for Georgiana to spread her conversational wings in company.

/

“What did you think of Miss Darcy?” Jane asked curiously as the carriage jolted into motion. The Bennet ladies had stayed exactly half an hour before departing and were now on their way back to Longbourn.

“She is very shy,” Elizabeth declared in surprise. “Given how imperious and proud her brother is, that is unexpected, but siblings vary tremendously in their characters.”

“Indeed they do.”

“How was your conversation with Mr. Bingley, Jane?”

“It was most enjoyable,” Jane admitted. “He likes to play spillikins.”

“Does he indeed? You should challenge him to a game, my dear. I am quite certain you are the best player in all of England.”

Jane laughed and shook her head, “I am quite certain I am not, but I do enjoy it, for all that it is merely a children’s game.”

“It takes great skill,” Elizabeth declared with a shrug, “as I can attest to since I am terrible at it! In any case, you enjoy it.”

“I do,” Jane agreed and then, a moment later, added hesitantly, “Mr. Brisbane was very disdainful of spillikins. He used to say that only a child would play a game with sticks.”

Elizabeth jerked in astonishment, “What? You never told me that!”

“No,” Jane agreed softly. “I ... suppose I merely assumed his perspective was a common one among learned gentlemen.”

Her younger sister shook her head in bewilderment, “It is an entirely ridiculous viewpoint. Surely we are permitted to have a variety of interests and hobbies? Why should spillikins be worse than ... chess, or hunting, or shooting, or all the other ways that gentlemen entertain themselves?”

“I do not know, I am sure,” Jane declared with a slight smile. “In any case, it was pleasing to converse with a gentleman who cheerfully acknowledges his love for spillikins and pantomime, and his dislike of Shakespeare’s tragedies.”

“It sounds agreeable indeed. What did you think of his sisters?”

Jane smiled, “They seemed quite friendly. I daresay Mama is right, that they are happy to have some new friends in the neighborhood.”

Elizabeth nodded and chose not to answer. She thought that the sisters were more like Mr. Darcy than their brother; she had seen the disdainful glances at the Bennet ladies’ simple dresses, and Miss Bingley had made more than one snide comment about ‘country life’. But Mrs. Younge was a good conversationalist and Miss Darcy seemed sweet under her shyness. Meryton was a small town, and there were only four and twenty families amongst the gentry. It was rare for newcomers to enter their midst, and Elizabeth was quite enjoying interacting with such a disparate group of gentlemen and ladies.

/

Jane and Elizabeth entered the west parlor in Longbourn to find Lydia sitting disconsolately on a chair, her face red and her eyes slightly weepy.

“What is wrong?” Jane asked in concern, laying aside her bonnet.

“I broke a nail through my gardening gloves,” the girl responded indignantly. “It will take weeks for my thumbnail to grow to the proper length again.”

Elizabeth tightened her lips in exasperation but refrained from speaking. Jane was always best in dealing with Lydia when their youngest, spoiled sister was in a fretful mood.

“My dear,” Jane said gently, sitting down beside Lydia and putting an arm around her shoulders, “that is quite disappointing, but that is why we have gloves for when we go out in company, is it not? I believe I have a lovely pair in green which you may use.”

“Oh, thank you!” Lydia exclaimed, leaping to her feet. “May I get them now?”

“Of course. Where are Mama and the other girls?” her eldest sister inquired.

“They are still out in the garden. I simply do not understand how anyone could actually enjoy grubbing about in the soil!”

“It is a good thing that some members of our family enjoy working with the tulips, since it enables us to buy many of the things which bring you pleasure,” Elizabeth pointed out. “I will see you both at dinner.”

Jane and Lydia made their way toward the stairway and Elizabeth walked quickly out the back door of Longbourn and down a side path to the stables, which she skirted to enter the side door of the conservatory.

When young Miss Frances Gardiner had married Mr. James Bennet of Longbourn some four and twenty years earlier, she had brought not only a 5000 pound dowry, but the combined knowledge of generations of women in her family regarding the successful breeding of the famous broken tulips which originated in Holland.

Mr. Bennet was not a particularly wise business man, and in his initial infatuation with his pretty young wife, he was willing to put up a large sum of money to erect a modern conservatory. Fortunately for the long term solvency of Longbourn, the tulips were showing a profit by the time Jane was three years old, and now the greenhouse, artfully concealed behind the stables, held the promise of yet more horticultural triumphs.

Elizabeth strolled through the greenhouse, the fragrance of moist soil tingling in her nostrils. Her mother and sisters were not within, so she passed through the back door and into the walled garden where her mother, Mary, and Kitty were bending over to inspect one of the tulip beds, a simple white variety.

Elizabeth gazed around the garden with satisfaction. The stone walls which hid the garden from passersby had been carefully designed to look dilapidated and unkempt, and a few rocks were even artistically displayed on the ground outside as if they had fallen from the wall. So far, no one in Meryton was aware that the Bennet ladies of Longbourn were growing tulips and selling them, and Elizabeth, while she decried the necessity, was thankful. It was true that as the daughters of a gentleman, she and her sisters were of sufficient social standing to attract the attention of many a man, especially with their augmented dowries through the sale of the tulips. Of course, if a man actually offered, he would need to be told about the family business, but it would be harmful for the Bennet women, already connected to trade through their mother, to be known as flower sellers to society at large.

“Lizzy!” Mary called out, straightening up and waving a soiled glove at her elder sister. “How was your visit to Netherfield?”

“It was interesting,” Elizabeth said, smiling at her next younger sister. Mary was the only Bennet daughter to not share their mother’s handsome features, which was somewhat of a trial to the girl. Fortunately, Mary had inherited her mother’s remarkable gifting with breeding tulips, which made her Mrs. Bennet’s favorite daughter. Elizabeth could only be grateful; in a culture where beauty was considered paramount for a woman, Mary knew herself to be accomplished in a most unusual way.

“Interesting?” Mrs. Bennet asked absently. “Kitty, my dear, please move that cold frame a few feet farther from ... yes, like that. Mary says the weather is warming and we do not wish for those plants to overheat.”

“Yes, Mama.”

“Interesting, Lizzy?” her mother repeated, this time with more focus. “In what way?”

“We met Miss Darcy, Mr. Darcy’s younger sister, and her companion, a Mrs. Younge, Mother.”

“What is Miss Darcy like?” Kitty inquired with a wrinkle of her nose. “I suppose she is haughty and proud like Mr. Darcy?”

“Not at all. She is very young, probably Lydia’s age, and extremely shy. No, the Darcys are not much alike.”

“And what of Mr. Bingley?” Mrs. Bennet inquired. “Does he continue to please you with his character?”

“I like him, certainly,” Elizabeth replied, “but Jane likes him more. Mr. Bingley and Jane seem to have much in common.”

Mrs. Bennet tilted her head thoughtfully, “Well then, my dear, we must invite him and his party to dinner at Longbourn soon. It would be a great blessing if the young man helped Jane get over her disappointment with the Brisbane boy. Now come, we are off to the Philips’ house in three hours for cards and supper, and need time to freshen up.”

/

/

 _Author Note:_ I am thrilled to announce that my new P&P novel, _Longbourn Inheritance_ , is now available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Hooray!! The final version has various tweaks and edits, plus it has TWO chapters of epilogue. I hope you will take a look. :-)

**Author's Note:**

> Be sure to check out my P&P novels on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
> 
> Longbourn Inheritance - new release!  
> The Enigmatic Mr. Collins  
> A Very Meryton Christmas  
> Darcy Sails After Her  
> A Fortuitous Fall  
> The Banished Uncle  
> The Blind Will See  
> I am Jael  
> I Have Been Jaeled
> 
> This story is copyright protected, and all rights are retained by the author. I do NOT grant permission to add my story to other websites or to download and share with others. I welcome your review of my work on Goodreads and other sites, but I would appreciate you waiting until the final edited version is published. Thank you.
> 
> Fair warning. I intend to publish this entire story here (as I write it) including the last chapter, but the last chapter will only be up a few days before I have to take it down per Amazon rules when I self-publish.


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